MEST 2 Evaluation
The brief for this coursework entails that we
produce a 3 minute video based on one of the seven genres we’ve been given as
an option in addition to a promotional print booklet to accompany it as part of
a competition. For the broadcast aspect of it (film itself) which we titled ‘La
Sombra,’ I worked with Callum Louis, Ra’eesah Khan and Mamduh Adan, working on
the modern noir genre.
The research I conducted contributed to both
planning and the final product in the sense that it informed aspects of the
modern/neo-noir genre that we had chosen to develop into. With it essentially
being an ‘updated film noir’, films like Sin City and Agent 47 specifically
contributed to the way we approached this production. Elements such as the
usage of the colour red help show this. Akin to Agent 47 we decided to this
with the red suit solely as well as red lighting in the party scene. The colour
red has connotations of violence, blood and power so the use of it here works
quite effectively with the direction of the film.
Institutionally, the research I carried out
followed agencies such as Film London as well as the BBFC. With Film London, as
part of the Microwave Film scheme, looking at some of the films from it such as
Ill Manors and Shifty helped me understand what exactly ‘makes an arthouse film
arthouse.’ In particular what stood out here was the aspect of informing the
general public on issues rather than solely aiming to entertain them. At the
same time the BBFC research had an impact with the fact that we had to ensure
that we were abiding to the age rating guidelines for a 15-rated film e.g. strong
violence, frequent strong language etc. This can be seen in the production
itself with us keeping anything like blood, or any proper graphic violence out
of the mix.
In terms of audience, carrying out a focus group
helped us be not only being aware that the film concept was good, but also that
there many aspects we could touch up upon within such as having an antihero and
drug dealing by European gangs.
The target audience for this film ranges from
teenagers the age of 15 to 45-year olds, with them being predominantly male.
With this in terms of psychographics the explorers, reformers and succeeder
groups can be thought to make up this target audience. Explorers in the sense
that the film takes place in a range of locations whether it be a party or a
train, reformers in that it offers a different take to the modern noir/crime
genre with a foreign silent killer and succeeders since the film is arthouse,
which is a genre something often associated with prestige and ‘culture
capital’/familiarity with high cultural forms.
This said, the brands that appeal to the audience
would range from things like Apple products, of course more towards succeeders,
British Airways/Virgin Atlantic for the explorers and Oxfam/Fairtrade for
reformers. With other films though, one particular one that would be watched by
the audience is ‘City of God.’ Not only being in the crime genre of film, City
of God is also foreign language which is something we implemented into our
production. Films this would be likely to be watched by the intended audience
on platforms such as streaming and VoD services like Netflix and Google Play
Movies as opposed to DVD and Blu-Ray, and this is the case since the audience
in this case mainly covers young people.
Overall, the target audience for this production
does appear to be quite strong in that it is broad enough to not solely appeal
to just a niche crowd. As well as this is the fact that in terms of age, the
audience is good in that it means other more modern platforms of movie-watching
can be exploited which young people put into use such as video on demand. It
can though to some extent, be thought to be weak as it predominantly caters
towards males rather than females which also makes up quite a large proportion
of movie audiences. This is particularly more apparent nowadays as suggested by
theories such as Rosalind Gill’s ‘female gaze’ with post-feminist media culture
in Britain meaning that men are also being presented in film for women to look
at.
The early section of the film works to allow
viewers to become immersed in the actions of the main character, La Sombra. At
00:00-00:07 and 01:03-01:09, camera movement is used in the form of tilts to
help give the audience a proper idea as to what La Sombra is doing as he
receives this phone call from his boss. The first time this tilt is implemented
is when he drinks from his hip flask and this effective in showing how crude he
is in his ways and not the formal type his suit might suggest him to be. The
second time it’s used is for a tracking shot of the phone landing in the canal,
simply helping to show the destruction of any evidence that may connect La
Sombra to a job. It can be said that mise-en-scene also plays an important role
here since the setting does appear as being quite secluded with no one in sight
other than the main character. Alongside this though, the throwing away of the
phone also acts as an action code (Roland Barthes) since it does suggest that
the protagonist will be going ahead to fulfil this hit, working to further the
narrative.
Another section of the film shows us the eventual
lead-up to La Sombra murdering his target in a mask party. Beginning from
03:17, and ending at 04:04, we first see him [La Sombra] picking up and wearing
a mask. Everyone else in this party is wearing one of these props, so this
works out from a mise-en-scene standpoint in making sure that he’s not out of
place in the whole thing. After this he looks at the ID he has of his intended
target and uses this to help him identify him within the crowd and with this a
panning shot is used as he does this to make it evident that he is actually
searching for him. Heading forward, the brandishing of the syringe is an action
code in suggesting that the person he shows this to is going to be killed, and
this is exactly what takes place. Just as he kills his target, the lights in
the room go from red to white, a particularly dramatic effect to the whole
scene. Along with this the non-diegetic music cuts out just as this happens,
helping to show the pure magnitude of the event.
When the front cover is concerned, most of the
conventions have been stuck to albeit with different takes on them. For example
with the ‘The Little Picturehouse’ title rather than being in the top third of
the cover, it’s placed vertically along the far-left side while still being
identifiable by readers. Other than this though, it still contains a central
image of the main actor of the production as well as the date of its release,
cover lines and a puff just to name a few things. What stands out particularly here
though is the usage of a uniform colour scheme throughout the cover with the
pane on the left, cover lines and puff, all matching the colour of the suit of
the actor in the cover. This colour scheme carries on throughout the rest of
the magazine with both the contents page and the double-page spread.
Conventions can also be found in the contents page
with it including the word ‘contents’ in bold right at the top of it. Along
with this the page numbers are in bold which helps readers see clearly the page
of each feature. On the right side of it is another picture of the main
character, this time with no face though and him doing up his tie, adding to
this idea of mystery within it. An addition that may appear as being unusual is
the syringe on the left side of the (first) page. What it is though, is the
weapon used to kill the target of La Sombra in the actual film, so a sense of
synergy is established there.
With the double-page, along with the continuing
colour scheme there’s also a headline for the feature, stand first
introduction, drop cap and another image of the main character. With this
though while the typical column layout is present on the second page of the
spread, on the first one the text is wrapped around it which just helps to
showcase another level of professionalism. One more thing to add is that the
social media icons in the bottom-right corner are not only representative of
common features of magazines nowadays, but at the same time assist in targeting
the main audience of the production [young people] more directly since they are
networks predominantly used by teenagers.
I’d say my printwork is strong in the sense that
there’s a solid level of consistency throughout it whether that be with the
font of it all or the colour scheme. Not only this but it’s apparent there’s a
level of complexity, especially with things like the wrapped text in the
double-page, the page numbers in bullet holes in the contents page (keeping
with the theme present in the film) and use of vertical text as opposed to
horizontal in some cases. Also overall it helps recognise the target audience
with the use of the social network icons in the corners of each page which is
something quite significant. At the same time though, it could’ve been better
by doing things like actually having something in the background rather just it
being plain black, refining some of the edges around the character’s hair and
additionally, perhaps having more pertaining to the actual competition itself
just to make it clear what the print is in dedication of.
Throughout the production work, representations
are generally reinforced. One of the most apparent ways this is the case is
with the portrayal of the main character. With him being the main protagonist,
and receiving the most screen time, Rosalind Gill’s theory of the female gaze specifically
can be applied in that males are in some sense objectified by female viewers.
In addition to this with the taxi driver appearing to be of South Asian
descent, Tessa Perkins’ theory can be applicable since it is to some extent
true that taxi drivers tend to be Indian or Pakistani.
If I was also to create an online blog as part of
a third brief relating to e-Media, things like social media especially play a
particularly significant role in its overall content. So rather than just
having things like icons of popular social networks in parts of the print work,
I would have had to mention things such as a social media campaign maybe with
the use of a hashtag, i.e #LASOMBRA, and this would relate to user-generated
content. UGC works particularly well as it seems a lot more ‘genuine’ coming
from actual viewers or people interested in a product, in this case the film,
rather than distributors. Examples of this lie in things like the Tag London
campaign for Ill Manors where people were requested to make/posts tweets with the hashtag
#ILLMANORS. What this actually helped do was promote his product in a way that
was both cheap for him and more likely to generate attention for it, with user
generated content (UGC) being something more easy for people to associate
themselves with rather than things from an institution.
In addition to this from an industry/institution
standpoint, what I’ve could’ve done is start establishing links between the
film and Spanish cinema (institutions) really furthering the fact that it is,
at least in part, a foreign language film.
Not only this but with it being known that the British film industry is
more production rather distribution-led, the inclusion of say an American
arthouse-based institution perhaps co-producing the film could have assisted in
not only cross-promoting an institution but also working to solve a current
problem within the British film industry.
In conclusion, I believe I have met the original
brief set out for us. With me not only creating a film that works sufficiently
within the modern noir genre that we selected, but also creating printwork that
links in with it well while still pertaining to the general conventions of
print, I without a doubt worked well within the brief. In terms of the media
marketplace, I think that the product would be successful simply due to the
fact that it’s a ‘tried and tested’ genre albeit with a number of differences
and this would get curiosity for the film, something particularly associable
with the arthouse audience, running quite well.